Westport News

The Westport News is an independently owned newspaper published in Westport, New Zealand. It is published on weekdays, and features a combination of national and international wire articles, local news stories and weather forecasts, and specialist coverage of farming, education, the arts and lifestyle issues.[1] In 2008 it had a print run of 2200 copies and a circulation of 1884 people.[2][3] The newspaper operates a small printing, reporting and weather operation in Westport,[4][5]

Westport News
TypeMonday–Friday daily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Founded1871
HeadquartersWestport, New Zealand
Circulation2200
Websitewestportnews.co.nz

Westport News coverage of local events has been quoted by national media outlets like Radio New Zealand and Stuff.co.nz,[6][7] and by other regional media like the Greymouth Star.[8] Some of its stories are also distributed on the NZME wire service, and published by the New Zealand Herald and Otago Daily Times.[9][10] Former reporters have gone on to work for the Financial Times, Reuters, New Zealand Press Association, NZ Newswire and Fairfax New Zealand.[11][12]

History

The newspaper began in the earliest days of European settlement in 1871, just ten years after the arrival of the first gold miners in 1861. The first European vessel known to have entered the river was the sealing schooner Three Brothers more than a decade later in 1884.[13] Gold mining is no longer part of the region's economy; coal mining, farming, fishing, cement making and tourism have taken its place.[14] More than 12 local newspapers were published in the West Coast in the 20th century, but only the Westport News and Greymouth Star were the only ones operating in 2010.[15]

The newspaper reported on the opening of the West Coast railway during Premier Richard Seddon's first official visit to the region in May 1883. It also described how Seddon allowed a mining town to be named Seddonville after him.[16] Almost a century later, it reported on the paving of the new Buller Bridge in November 1976.[17] Following inquiries from the Westport News, the New Zealand Army Museum identified the gun at the front of the museum was the 40 pounder artillery gun that once stood at Victoria Park in Westport.[18] Otago University holds an archive of the newspaper from 1982 to 1991.[19]

The Talley's Group took the Westport News to the New Zealand Press Council in November 2000 over reports about alleged odours emitted by the Talley fishmeal factory in Westport. However, the Press Council refused to uphold the complaint.[20]

Coast FM
This is a map of Coast FM frequencies.

A local radio station, Coast FM, also broadcasts from the Westport News office to most of the West Coast Region. The station began in 1995 as Radio Fifeshire Westport in partnership with Fifeshire FM in Nelson, and started broadcasting in Hokitika and Greymouth in 1996. The station was rebranded as Coast FM in 1999, but is not related to Coast network that broadcasts in other parts of the country.[21]

The station's programmes include the weekday morning Early Morning Wake Up with Lisa Pattinson, the weekday afternoon Late Late Breakfast Show with Dave Williamson, the weeknight Night Café with Jason Mac, the Friday night Night Zone with Danny Cockfield and the Saturday Morning Sports Show with Barry Townrow.[21]

The station broadcasts mid-morning trade and exchange notices,[22] cancellation notices for Sunset Speedway,[23] and live commentaries of Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union and Buller Rugby Football Union games.[24][25][26] On Sunday mornings it broadcasts The Great Big Kids Show with Suzy Cato,[27] and country music programme West Coast Country with Barb Berry.[28]

Stations

Coast FM broadcasts on the following frequencies:

gollark: Which will *hopefully* go away after this, but I kind of doubt it.
gollark: Crises are always an excuse for governments to grab power. We got ridiculous privacy invasion and useless airport security after 9/11 and whatnot, and governments now are declaring bucketloads of emergency powers.
gollark: It's not like doing something is always a net positive.
gollark: *is using discord in browser*
gollark: Or possibly a conspiracy theory.

References
  1. "Contact The News". Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  2. "Press audit results". abc.org.nz. New Zealand Audit Bureau of Circulation. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  3. "NABS - Westport News". nabs.co.nz. NABS. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  4. "Westport News print run 'from computer to press'". Youtube.com. Westport News. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  5. "Dry October for Westport". CVL Valuations. West Coast Property News. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  6. "Heavy rain causes flooding on West Coast". Radio New Zealand. radionz.co.nz. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  7. "Westport gets ready for royalty". Fairfax New Zealand. Stuff.co.nz. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  8. Bromley, Tui. "Aussie miner scales back". Greymouth Star. Greymouth Star. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  9. McMahon, Brendon (12 November 2014). "Westport seeks new airline". Otago Daily Times. NZME News Wire. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  10. "Westport man convicted on child pornography charges named". New Zealand Herald. NZME News Service. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  11. "Primary Communicators Day". scienceevents.co.nz. New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  12. "Behind the News". nznewswire.co.nz. NZ Newswire. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  13. "Welcome to the Buller District". westcoast.govt.z. West Coast Tourism. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  14. "History of the Buller District". bullerdc.govt.nz. Buller District Council. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  15. Nathan, Simon (17 July 2015). "West Coast region - Media". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  16. "Coal is discovered". Nzhistory.net.nz. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  17. "Photograph: Paving the new Buller Bridge just before it opened, Westport. 30 Nov 1976" (Photograph). Westport News. 30 November 1976. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  18. "NZ Wars Armstrong 40 Pounder Gun". armymuseum.co.nz. New Zealand Army Museum. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  19. "When everyone wants to read yesterday's news" (PDF). otago.ac.nz. Otago University. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  20. "Michael Talley against Westport News". presscouncil.org.nz. New Zealand Press Council. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  21. "Coast FM". coastfm.net.nz. Coast FM. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  22. White, Mike (December 2009). "A Weekend in Karamea" (PDF). North & South. pp. 120–124. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  23. "Sunset Speedway, Westport". speedwayracing.co.nz. Speedway Racing New Zealand. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  24. "Poverty Bay Rugby Representative". povertybayrugby.co.nz. Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  25. "Heartland Preview – Buller v North Otago – Head 2 Head". rugbyheartland.co.nz. Rugby Heartland. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  26. "September 2013 Buller Rugby". bullerrugby.co.nz. Buller Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  27. "TGBKS Stations". tgbks.enter.co.nz. Treehut Limited. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  28. "West Coast Country". nzcountrymusic.com. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
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